“Nope.”
My teeth sink into my cheek. Sometimes he says a lot. Other times, he’s a firmly closed book and it leaves me wanting more. “Did you ever go on vacation?”
“No.”
“So you’ve never been abroad?”
“No.”
“Aha!” I shift in my seat. “You’re a liar. You were in the military, I know you’ve been abroad.”
“Not according to the government.” Falco gives a the hint of a smile.
“Is it…weird? Going from being a soldier to a life like this?”
“No.”
Damn. Still nothing. My shoulders slump slightly and I accept defeat, until Falco takes a breath.
“Working with your family is like being in the military again. Only, I have a little more freedom and the threat of being killed isn’t constant. But it’s sometimes…worse.”
I watch him silently, unwilling to speak in case it scares him into shutting up.
“Normal life is…hard. Things that are every day to some, like the slam of a door, the squeak of a car brake, a gust of strong wind, or even the reflection of a light against a windshield at night,none of that means anything to anyone, but to me it’s a sniper glint or a change in the air or a gunshot or something worse.”
“I…I can’t imagine how difficult that is,” I murmur softly. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugs one shoulder, his hands moving expertly over the steering wheel. “It’s just life now.”
“Do you always feel on edge?”
Falco nods.
“Does it ever go away?”
His lips part as if he has something to say, then he shakes his head. “No.”
My heart sinks slightly. “Is that why you don’t sleep?”
“I sleep.”
“No. You’re always awake. Every time I wake up to go to the bathroom or something, you’re awake. I see you all the time.”
Falco’s lips twitch again. “I sleep when I need to.”
I want to press more, my curiosity building. Falco’s so different from everyone else, and the attachment I feel to him has me wanting to know every detail. But I know my limits. Pressing too hard will make him shut down, and I’ve already learned a lot.
“I’d watch over you while you slept,” I say, tucking my blanket firmer around me.
“That’s not how this works.”
“I know. But I would.”
A comfortable silence falls and remains as Falco guides the car from a smooth road to the rough track that leads through a dark green sea of trees all the way up the mountain.
I crack the window slightly and breathe deeply as the welcome scent of wet dirt, pine needles, and a hundred other woodland scents burst through the gap.
Already, the stress of the city is melting away.
